Amaris EncinasUSA TODAY
Oct. 2, 2026, 6:15 p.m. ET
Elon Musk and his partner Shivon Zilis have called it quits.
Zilis, 40, announced the split Oct. 2, in an X post after a big-tech-focused X account shared that Musk was no longer following Zilis, who shares four children with the SpaceX and Tesla CEO.
“It’s hard to go from in love to let go in a week with no warning, but that’s just how it is sometimes,” Zilis wrote in an X post. “I feel happy that I got to show Elon how it feels to be deeply understood, nurtured, and peacefully loved with stability and gentleness.”
Zilis also attached a screenshot of what appeared to be some of the final text messages she and Musk exchanged before the split.
Zilis, a Yale-educated tech executive, first crossed paths with the South African-born businessman when she joined OpenAI in 2016, and the couple’s romance began after Musk acted as her sperm donor
Zilis and Musk share 4-year-old fraternal twins, Strider and Azure; a 2-year-old daughter, Arcadia; and a 1-year-old son, Seldon Lycurgus. She is also in a senior leadership position at Musk’s brain-chip company Neuralink.
In her recent post, Zilis said she and Musk’s children were a “safe space” for him amid a chaotic and highly publicized life, adding that her heart was full knowing she got to do just that and hoped “it leaves a lasting good effect.”
“A place where all of us were overjoyed to see him and one that was always full of happiness and love, not war, in contrast to his otherwise militant existence…” Zilis wrote. “I loved being that counterbalancing place of safety, sense of calm, and love — and delighted in bringing a smile back to his face when he was down.”
Zilis also said she will miss Musk “dearly” and that she loved him “more than life itself and he’s taught me 100 lifetimes of knowledge and made my cup overflow with life meaning…”
Zilis added: “… So there is a lot of loss, but luckily we created four beautiful little loves of my life. I am so beyond grateful for our children and they make every single day the best day of my life.”
USA TODAY contacted Musk’s reps for comment Oct. 2, but has not received a response.
Elon Musk’s ex on breakup: ‘Lucky to have you’
Zilis had nothing but good things to say about Musk and their relationship, even sharing her hope of what their future relationship could look like.
“I do hope and pray he and I can be great friends and coparents,” Zilis wrote in her recent X post. “I’m hurting, but care deeply about E and will always be cheering for his happiness. God speed, Elon, the world is lucky to have you.”
In addition to the four children Musk shares with Zilis, the tech mogul has fathered 10 more children with three different women, including Canadian author Justine Wilson, singer Grimes and conservative commentator Ashley St. Clair, over the course of two decades.
Musk and Wilson’s eldest son, Nevada Alexander, who was born in 2002, passed away from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) at 10 weeks old.
